CHILDREN TRANSFORM CLASSES

At one end of a private, Presbyterian school west of Boca Raton, Clifford was licking visitors as they entered a preschool classroom-turned doghouse.

At the other end, visitors to a fourth-grade classroom were sharing banana slices and monkey business with Curious George.

It was all part of a storybook wonderland the students at Spanish River Christian School created on Thursday.

"It really was exciting," said Andrew Durgee, 10, a third-grader. "These were great stories."

And they taught the students a great deal, kindergarten teacher Carol Hanson said.

"This introduced them to classic stories, and they found lessons in those books," Hanson said. "They had a lot of fun."

In 1992 and 1993, the students learned about foreign countries and American states, then transformed their classrooms into travelogues.

This year, instead of embarking on a Geography Fair, the students authored a Literature Fair.

"My favorite? I vote for this year's," kindergarten teacher Shelley Brimacombe said. "I think the kids have gotten much more out of this one. Incredibly so."

Sarah Davis, 9, a third-grader, agreed. "We did a lot more this year ... a lot more activities," she said.

For example:

-- Kindergarteners: After reading books by Beatrix Potter, they brought in a live rabbit, created a mock garden and served fresh vegetables.

The garden was made from old craft paper that had been converted to pulp. "So they even learned about recycling," teacher Hanson said.

-- First-graders: After reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, they created a giant caterpillar costume that they all can stick their heads through and wear at the same time.

"It's darling," preschool teacher Connie Friedland said.

-- Second-graders: After reading The Popcorn Book by Tomie de Paola, they used the book as the basis for a series of science experiments. The students also served popcorn.

"It's great the way they incorporated it all together," said Becky Sanders, the school's office manager.

-- Third-graders: After reading Rain Forest by Helen Cowcher, one class created a "blackboard jungle" by hanging crepe-paper vines and papier-mache birds from the classroom ceiling. Another, after reading books by Dr. Seuss, created paper mobiles and clay sculptures. The students also served animal crackers.

"I liked it," third-grader Sarah said. "It was a lot of fun."

-- Fourth-graders: After reading Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, they built a miniature town, using craft paper and plastic figures. The students also played tapes of bluegrass music.

"We learned how it was, back then," said Chris Wollstein, 10, a third-grader.

The project helped them prepare for the future, classmate Andrew said. "It helped your mind be more creative," he said.